And chief executive Ed Woodward would be spared the ordeal of having to sack Van Gaal and admit he got it wrong by appointing the Dutchman, despite mounting evidence that suggests that is indeed the case.

The chances of Van Gaal leading his Reds to glory next season and bowing out of management on a high with the Premier League title look faintly ludicrous if this season’s form is anything to go by.

Although he has spent £250million on new players, there is little evidence of any natural progression from last season’s top-four finish.

If anything, United have regressed, which adds further weight to the belief Van Gaal could decide to call it a day this summer.

The Old Trafford club have three points less than they did at this stage of the Premier League campaign last year and have scored eight fewer goals. A top-four finish is far from certain, given the increased competition this term.

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United have already been eliminated from the Champions League after failing to navigate their way out of a straightforward group, leaving the FA Cup and the Europa League as their only realistic chances of silverware this season.

Even new kit sponsors Adidas have waded in, with chief executive Herbert Hainer criticising the team’s football under Van Gaal, admitting “the current playing style of United is not exactly what we want to see”.

Against that backdrop, there is little to endorse the 64-year-old staying on for the final year of his contract, unless United somehow manage to conjure a resounding end to this campaign that produces an unlikely title tilt.

Given what has gone before this season, that seems increasingly distant.

More likely is United lurching on under Van Gaal, playing a stupefying, cautious game and potentially even missing out on the holy grail of a top-four finish.

Jose Mourinho — the favourite to succeed Van Gaal should the former Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Holland boss quit this summer — may not have a reputation for playing expansive, thrilling football.

Red alert: Many expect Mourinho to take over if Van Gaal does leave at season's end (Photo: Michael Regan)

But, this season aside, he is a proven winner — something United have not been able to call themselves since Alex Ferguson rode off into the sunset three years ago, leaving the club’s 20th league title as his parting gift.

Since then, the Theatre of Dreams has become the Theatre of Broken Dreams for United fans used to success under the peerless Fergie.

Many believe the best chance they have of returning to those glory days is for Van Gaal to go.

And doing the honourable thing – for his own good, as much as for United’s – would earn the respect of those who doubt him.

Knight fever: Ferguson went out as a champion but United have won nothing since (Photo: Getty)

If Van Gaal decides to see out the final year of his contract, United could reasonably fear a dip in form next season from players aware that he is on his way out.

Ferguson experienced that very thing before reversing his initial decision to retire in 2002, while Manchester City handed Manuel Pellegrini a contract extension last summer to avoid precisely the same scenario this season.

And with Pep Guardiola poised to take over from Pellegrini at City this summer, United know they cannot afford to fall further behind the neighbours.

That, as much as Van Gaal feeling the pressure and deciding it has become too much for him, could prove the tipping point that sees United, who had Ferguson at the helm for 26-and-a-half-years, appointing a third new boss in as many years this summer.